Upon those travelers who make their way without maps or guides

"Upon those travelers who make their way without maps or guides, there breaks a wave of exhilaration with each unexpected change of plans. This exhilaration is not a whore who can be bought with money nor a neighborhood beauty who may be wooed. She (to persist in personifying the sensation as female) is a wild and sea-eyed undine, the darling daughter of adventure, the sister of risk, and it is for her rare and always ephemeral embrace, the temporary pressure she exerts on the membrane of ecstasy, that many men leave home" - Tom Robbins

I know it's been a while since I've written, but I thought I'd catch you all up on what has happened and what is, more importantly, about to start happening.

After the fishing season Amber, Max, and I had to bring the Deer Harbor II down through Canada and back to Bellingham, WA. At this point in the season everyone is just itching to be done and get back, but, unfortunately, we are at the whim of the weather. This trip could easily take weeks, but somehow we manage to make it perfectly in four days. We had 0 weather delays which was all I could ask for at this time in the season. Down through Canada we got to see a few killer whales pods too! I was worried I wouldn't see any this season, but they came through for me and there was no disappointment. We came upon one pod with like 30 in it at one point and stopped to watch them playing around. They'd come over close to the boat to check it out or splash about with all this other whale friends. Here's a few (including a baby and a massive bull) who came a little closer to the boat to see what's up!

It was all pretty sweet and we finally made it to Bellingham to have one last awesome crew night together before I headed to Seattle via Amtrak the next day. I didn't linger in Seattle as I had bought a dirt cheap plane ticket back to San Antonio, Texas to surprise my family. Seriously though, you gotta try skyscanner. It's this super awesome app that finds these super cheap tickets. I bought the ticket from Seattle to San Antonio the day before and it was only $150. I couldn't pass that up! And so before I knew it I was on a plane down South! Interestingly enough I was sat next to Rick Steves on the flight. I had no idea who this guy was, but turns out he has my dream job! He has a television show about traveling Europe! I would do anything to get paid to travel. Dang, that job is legit. But anyways, huge coincidence eh? I, the traveling bum, am sat next to the famous traveler. Sometimes you gotta love fate. After swapping a few stories he gave me his card and, seeming a little interested in my traveling, he was off! Until next time Rick Steves, maybe I'll see you in Europe.


Long story short, I made it home. It was fun for a few days and I did all my housekeeping things (going to the doctor, visiting with my dog, getting tattooed) before I started getting bored again. Now this is dangerous ground, trust me. I just came back from Alaska with a fat check and nothing to do. On another note it's always weird going from poor to rich (relatively). So now for what is in store: Me and Stumbles (you may remember her) planned a trip to Peru in January for her birthday, I'm going to Mexico today with someone I just met last week, and I bought a plane ticket to Ireland for next week... All of this happened unexpectedly within a few days. I love the randomness of it all and I cannot wait to get back into the game! Real blog posts are soon to come, this is more of an update on my boring home life :)

Be happy,

Beacon